Robots are automated devices which are able to act on or manipulate objects using a series of links. The links are interconnected via articulations and actuator-driven robotic joints. End-effectors are the particular links or connected devices used for performing a work task. For instance, in a robotic gripper, which is typically a hand having two or more articulated fingers, the task of grasping an object is performed via a controlled movement of the links arranged in a chain extending from the base of the robotic gripper to the tips of the fingers.
Robotic grippers are available in a wide range of geometric sizes, grasping force capabilities, degrees of freedom, and relative dexterities. Some gripper designs use two relatively rigid pinchers to grasp a simple object via a pinching motion. Others use a five-finger humanoid hand with articulated fingers to grasp an object in a variety of grasp poses, with the particular grasp pose determined by the geometry of the object being grasped. Given the vast range of possible grasp poses, object geometries, and robotic gripper designs, conventional control methods and systems for executing a commanded grasp pose by a multi-axis robotic gripper are less than optimal in certain applications.